Section I: The Austin/Travis County Welfare-to-Work Coalition
A major welfare-to-work initiative is underway in the Capital Area of
Texas. In response to historical changes in the welfare system, community
leaders from the public, private and voluntary sectors of the community
created the Austin/Travis
County Welfare-to-Work Coalition (i.e. the Coalition). The Coalition’s primary goal is to move welfare recipients into
jobs and to provide them with training and supportive services necessary
to keep them employed and moving towards better jobs leading ultimately
to self-sufficiency. To meet this goal, the Coalition is creating
a system of support and opportunities to help people transition off welfare
benefits and secure sustainable employment.
The Coalition is an outgrowth of work initiated by the Community
Action Network (CAN). The November 1997 CAN Welfare Reform Task Force report, Welfare Reform in Austin/Travis County: Report to the Resource Council,
laid the groundwork for the Coalition’s effort. The 1997 report
provided critical information and analysis. Key points include:
- descriptions of recent Federal and State welfare reform legislation;
- the impact of welfare reform on recipients and the community;
- descriptions of the major categories of need as they relate to employment;
- recommendations to address the impact of welfare reform.
The recommendations in the 1997 report led to the formation of the Welfare-to-Work
Coalition. This report demonstrates the substantial progress being
made by the Coalition to implement recommendations made by the Welfare
Reform Task Force, including:
A. Establish a group of key community stakeholders to take action to
address the various local impacts of welfare reform. The tasks of this
group should include but not be limited to the following:
1. Define the full scope of community needs generated by welfare reform
and outlined in Section III of this report: Supportive Services, Subsistence
Requirements and Workforce Development.
2. Determine strategies that will take action to address the defined
needs.
3. Establish an evaluation process to determine which strategies are
effective.
4. Promote and support collaborative efforts to address the defined
needs.
5. Acquaint key community leaders about the impacts of federal welfare
reform and the urgency to take action within three months so as to have
a positive effect in the community within one year.
6. Address the requirement to find ways to immediately assist those
impacted by federal welfare reform that:
- are not having their basic needs met;
- can not get jobs;
- lack literacy;
- need education and job training;
- need supporting services, e.g., housing, child care, substance abuse
treatment, transportation, health care, etc.
B. Establish a mechanism to provide continuing education to the community
about the local impacts of welfare reform. Special emphasis should be placed
on such efforts in the business community.
The Coalition is working diligently to implement these recommendations.
This report highlights the significant steps being taken by the Coalition.
Nevertheless, much more work needs to be done in order to make welfare-to-work
a success in Austin/Travis County.
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The Coalition Structure
The Welfare-to-Work Coalition consists of more than 80 member
organizations from health and human service agencies, educational institutions,
private businesses, public housing authorities, communities of faith and
nonprofit organizations. All sectors of the community are engaged in the
initiative. The large scope and diversity of the Coalition creates
a unique opportunity to coordinate services, improve communication and
utilize existing community resources in order to help participants move
towards self-sufficiency.
As the Chairman of the Coalition, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson presides
over the Steering Committee and guides the Coalition. The Coalition members have shown their commitment by participating in weekly meetings
and involving their staff members in the process.
Three action committees work on different issue areas: Workforce Development,
Supportive Services and Subsistence Requirements. The three issue areas
are equally important components of a continuum. Together, they form a
comprehensive and coordinated system designed to place participants in
jobs and support them in their transition to self-sufficiency.
Over the past several months, the committees identified the specific
needs of TANF and food-stamp-eligible recipients as they move towards self-sufficiency.
These needs include education, job training, job placement, transportation,
health care and case management/mentoring.
The action committees also studied the capacity of the community to
serve these residents as they move off public assistance. In doing so,
they identified existing service gaps, designed strategies to address these
gaps, identified organizations providing services; and began estimating
associated costs. The committees’ work was integrated into a coordinated
plan to place individuals in jobs with the support services necessary to
maintain productive employment.
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The Continuum of Service Approach
Creating a full continuum
of services is an essential part of the welfare-to-work effort. Currently,
the community does not offer a comprehensive seamless array of job supports
that make earning a livable wage feasible for most TANF eligible recipients. Without support services like child care and transportation,
there is little chance a participant will seek or maintain employment.
The Coalition has identified strategies to make the continuum
possible by linking the services of community organizations throughout
the transition from welfare to sustainable employment. Coordinating services
also helps to eliminate duplication of efforts in the community. The Coalition has created a forum in which community organizations work together rather
than compete for resources.
The continuum of service approach also addresses the needs of the working
poor. These individuals and their families are often one paycheck or one
medical emergency away from needing public assistance. They earn less than
the livable wage and often work several jobs to make ends meet. Their needs
are similar to the needs of many welfare recipients. For example, preventive
assistance and transitional benefits are critical to the working poor as
they strive to gain self-sufficiency. The Coalition’s action
plans include the working poor as a target population in need of services.
Homeless individuals are another group in need of the continuum of support
offered by the Coalition. The Coalition model addresses the
needs of the homeless and offers strategies and action plans to move them
into jobs.
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Welfare-to-Work Grants
The need for additional resources fostered the development of a funding-focused
subcommittee known as the Austin/Travis County Welfare-to-Work Consortium.
Austin Community College and the City of Austin, in collaboration with
Travis County lead this group. Similar to the Coalition, the Consortium is a diverse group of 38 community stakeholders. Its members include employers,
educators, governmental officials and leaders of community based organizations.
The Consortium is applying for a $5 million welfare-to-work competitive
grant administered by the U.S. Department
of Labor. The grant would be used to address the long-term employment
needs of 750 persons in Austin/Travis County. The participants fall into
the following target categories: public housing residents; Section 8 and
other subsidized housing residents; individuals needing substance abuse
treatment; qualifying non-custodial parents; and learning disabled individuals.
While the Welfare-to-Work Coalition would benefit from the grant,
its work in the community does not depend on it.
In late August, a $1.5 million welfare-to-work formula grant will be
allocated by the State of Texas to Austin/Travis County. The Capital Area Workforce Development Board, which has responsibility
for Austin/Travis County, will administer the grant. These funds will help
the Coalition implement its plans to move welfare recipients into
work and self-sufficiency.
The Austin/Travis County Welfare-to-Work Coalition strives to
be at the forefront of America’s journey towards a transformed workforce
system. We believe the commitment to a collaborative, coordinated effort
with shared responsibilities among all aspects of government, education,
community organizations, business and industry is the only way to address
this huge community problem.
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